Flying drones with heat-seeking equipment are being used to target cannabis farms in the UK countryside

It's happened – drones are officially high-flying members of the criminal underworld. But who'd have thought it would be in the rural areas of Britain? Over in the West Midlands, an unnamed criminal has given an interview to a local newspaper in which he claims that he's been flying drones over the countryside in order to detect cannabis farms and snatch their stash.

Speaking to Halesowen News, he said "I bought my first drone for a few hundred quid, learned how to fly it over wasteland and fitted a wifi camera to it so I could look into people's windows."

Once he's found a crop, him and his crew either burgle the property, or subject them to blackmail. According to him, his gang don't even need to use violence – cannabis farming has gone so mainstream that the people growing it aren't exactly your typical armed criminal underworld types.

The anonymous stick up artist sees it as just the harsh realities of entering a criminal world: "They are fair game, it is not like I'm using my drone to see if people have nice televisions, I am just after drugs to steal and sell, if you break the law then you enter me and my drone's world."

Simple, remote controlled, commercial drones are available on Amazon for under £100, with more sturdy versions going for up to £300. This enterprising criminal told the local paper that he even acquired his tactical nous from an unlikely source: the cops.

"I noticed police helicopters used thermal imaging cameras to find cannabis farms because of the heat the hydroponic lights give off," he explains, "so I bought a second hand heat-seeking camera online and hooked it up to my iPad."